Diabetic Dad
Location: El Cajon, California Date: July 29, 1990 Story Just as the sun came up on July 29, 1990, six-year-old Megan Huggins awoke to a kind of quiet in her house in El Cajon, California. She felt that something was wrong. She could hear the faint sound of stumbling and muttering from the other room--a creepy and unfamiliar sound. Only she and her father were home at that early hour. But why was he banging into the walls? Why was he mumbling strange things? Why was he acting so weird? Wiping the sleep from her eyes and brushing back her long blonde hair, Megan slid out of bed. Ever-so-cautiously she made her way to the living room, timidly peeked around the doorway and saw her father, who looked as if he didn't know where he was. He could hardly stand up and was talking as if she weren't there at all. Suddenly, she didn't want to be there; she didn't want to see her own father acting so strangely. She didn't know what to expect and it scared her. On the other side of town, 911 dispatcher Diane Booth arrived at the emergency center where she started work every day at 6:30am. It was a beautiful summer morning and she was feeling good. At that early hour, the emergency calls she usually received were just neighbors complaining about a loud party, a dog barking, or local kids making prank calls. But on that bright July day, she received a call that was none of the above: it was a true emergency. A very young, very frightened voice on the other end of the line begged Diane to send help to her house right away. Little Megan, sniffling and shaky, cried as she told Diane that her daddy was acting "weird" and that she was afraid of him. She knew that must be something wrong with him, but she had no idea what it could be and she needed help fast. Diane could hear the fear in her voice and could sense there was something very wrong at her house. Diane had had a lot of experience with emergency calls and was always quick to determine the problem and send help. But on that day, the story told by Megan was hard to figure out--it was a puzzle for her. Her job on that morning--possibly the most important job she had ever had--was to unravel this mystery, and try to save Megan, and from the sound of it, to save her father too. As in any mystery, Diane first had to get all the details. Keeping Megan calm, she began to question her about what was happening at home: Was her father drunk? Had he hit her of hurt her in any way? Was he acting violent or mean? Were there any weapons around the house? With each question, Diane began to dig deeper into the situation at Megan's house. She was not just a dispatcher anymore; now she was also a detective. Even though the telephone connected the two, there was still some confusion. Diane had a hard time understanding just what Megan was saying and she had to ask her to repeat herself several times before she could learn any more. In her fear and concern, she was not able to communicate the important details Diane needed to know in order to send the right kind of help. Diane had to proceed slowly. The call began this way: "My dad's talking weird. He's scaring me," said Megan. "What's your dad's name?" Diane asked. "Phil." "Phil what?" "Phil Huggins." "What's your name?" "Megan." "Megan Huggins?" "Megan Ann Huggins." Those were the easy questions, but Diane still could not explain the fear she heard in Megan's voice. She was becoming increasingly concerned about her safety, and could only imagine what terrible things were happening across town to her since she wasn't able to get the information she needed. Like putting the pieces of a puzzle together, Diane began to form a picture from Megan's all-too-few clues. Phil had not been mean or abusive to her. It sounded to Diane like he was very sick. Getting these tiny bits of information was slow and agonizing. She was very patient with Megan but there was still some misunderstandings: "What is he doing now, Megan?" "He's drooling." He's drilling? What does that mean, drilling?" "I don't know." "You don't know what that means but you know he's drilling?" "Saliva is coming out of his mouth." "Oh, he's drooling!" Recognizing the urgent need for an ambulance, Diane dispatched one right away. But she kept Megan on the phone. The mystery was not yet solved. Phil was barely conscious and lay still on the couch, sweating and pale. Though Megan was six years old, she could tell that he was very sick and she clung to the telephone as if it were her lifetime. She wanted to run from her house and drag someome back to help him. But she knew the ambulance would be there soon. Three minutes later, which seemed like forever to little Megan, she heard the wailing sirens outside the house. Help had come at last! She dropped the phone, sprinted to the door, and excitedly let Officer Garner into the now-quiet house. On his first look, he was almost certain Phil was dead--his eyes were closed, he was lying very still, and he didn't seem to be breathing. Officer Garner shook him. There was no response. Whatever was wrong with him was still a mystery. Solving it would take more time and some real detective work. The emergency medical team arrived on the scene soon after Officer Garner and together they searched for clues to Phil's illness. It was clear he was very ill indeed, and one look at poor frightened Megan convinced the team that they had to hurry. She was a little confused with all the people running around, but she knew they were going to help Phil so she tried to be brave. With five or six bustling emergency workers hot on the trail, it was only a few seconds before the mystery was solved: A paramedic discovered a tag hanging from Phil's neck--an identification tag that said he was a diabetic. Diabetes is a disease people have when there is too much or too little sugar in their blood and the body doesn't know what to do with it. In Phil's case, the amount of sugar in his blood was much too low, causing him to faint--to go into diabetic shock. After a quick test, paramedics saw that Phil had almost no blood sugar. His body had just "shut down"--stopped working. When this happened, first he had begun to act "weird"--stumbling around and talking funny, as Megan had noticed earlier--until finally he become unconscious. If the emergency team hadn't arrived as soon as it did, his body would have shut off completely--and he might have died. Luckily for him, Megan had thought quickly and dialed 911 when she realized he was acting strange. The paramedics pulled out a large needle and quick, sure hands gave Phil a big shot of dextrose--a substance just like sugar--to wake him up and make sure he would be okay. Slowly and groggily, his eyes fluttered open. He blankly looked around the room at first, not sure of where he was. Then, seeing all the strange faces looking at him with concern, he shook his head and asked what had happened. His mouth was dry and sticky and he looked very tired, but other than that, he seemed to bounce right back. The worst was over. He was going to be okay. Megan, seeing Phil awake and all right, broke into a huge smile and ran into his arms, planting a big kiss on his cheek. He had never been so happy to see her. To him, she was truly a hero. Her mom was also very proud of her and was glad to have taught her those important numbers--911. According to Mrs. Huggins and Megan, "All parents should teach their children to call 911." Mrs. Huggins had done the right thing in telling Megan how to dial 911. She had communicated the importance of an emergency to her and made sure she knew what to do. Phil should have told Megan that he had a disease like diabetes. Not everyone looks and acts sick when they have an illness. Some are hard to spot, or they don't show any signs until it is too late. Megan learned a hard lesson when she found Phil unconscious and near death. Phil always wears a special tag so that in case of an emergency, paramedics know what to do. If Megan had known about his diabetes, she could have alerted the dispatcher and removed some of their confusion. But thank goodness he had his tag; the paramedics saw it and were able to treat him immediately. During Megan's telephone call with Diane, it was also important to communicate to Diane exactly what was happening so she could send the proper help. Megan, being so young and afraid, had difficulty with many of the important details and turned the emergency into a mystery. Fortunately, for everybody, the emergency team got Phil back on his feet. Category:1990 Category:California Category:Diabetic Emergencies Category:Kid Heroes